Welcome to our series this Holy Week. Today let us open our hearts to the Lord and allow Him to speak to us about Jesus’s crucifixion and the life-changing love of God.

Ngunit dahil sa ating mga kasalanan kaya siya nasugatan; siya ay binugbog dahil sa ating kasamaan. Tayo ay gumaling dahil sa pahirap na dinanas niya at sa mga hampas na kanyang tinanggap. … ipinataw ni Yahweh sa kanya ang kaparusahang tayo ang dapat tumanggap.

Isaias 53:5–6

When we talk about the Crucifixion, the image of Jesus hanging on the Cross in Calvary has become too familiar and seemingly plain that sometimes, we take for granted the sacrifice He did to pay the death penalty for our sins. But if we look into the gruesome details of what Jesus went through on our behalf, there won’t be enough words to describe how much He loves us.

Based on historical and medical research as mentioned in the book Crucifixion by Martin Hegel; A Physician Testifies About the Crucifixion by Dr. Truman Davis, Jesus endured the most horrible and most disgraceful punishment for us. He was brutally beaten by the Roman soldiers. Ininsulto, dinuraan. Hinubaran. Pinagtawanan. They tied His hands and flogged Him with a whip that had heavy leather thongs, metal balls and sharp bones that cut deep into His shoulders, back and legs.

Tadtad ng pasa at duguan ang Kanyang nagkapunit-punit na likod. Puno ng dugo ang kanyang mukha dahil sa koronang tinik sa Kanyang ulo ― “… the Servant of God beaten and bloodied, an object of horror; … one would scarcely know it was a person…” (Isaiah 52:14).

Nailed to the cross through His wrists and feet, He struggled to stand, causing excruciating pain to radiate through His body whenever He took a breath. He did this until He died.

And to ensure that He was dead, a soldier pierced His side with a spear. And immediately, there came out blood and water, His precious blood that washed away all our sins (Revelation 1:5).

The level of Jesus’ physical suffering shows how much a holy God hates sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). But it also shows His great love for us “in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, NASB).

Today is a Good Friday indeed because the death of Jesus led to the forgiveness of our sins. We hope you’ll join us again tomorrow for our Holy Week series.